Hawkeye Reporter

An Oskaloosa resident, Matthew Scott Beal, 42, has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of a child. The sentencing took place on September 10, 2025.

Court documents show that Beal produced child pornography involving a minor and distributed four videos containing child pornography over the internet to an undercover law enforcement account managed by Homeland Security’s Newark Child Exploitation Task Force. Authorities later searched Beal’s residence in Oskaloosa and seized his phone, which contained more than 100 images and videos depicting child pornography. Some of these materials involved prepubescent children engaged in sex acts with adults.

After serving his prison sentence, Beal will undergo five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $15,938.50 in restitution to several victims. There is no parole available in the federal system.

The case was investigated by multiple agencies including the Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations Newark Child Exploitation Group, the Oskaloosa Police Department, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa announced the sentencing. “This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.” For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.